Originally Posted by R.Lee
Yes, I know what you're getting at, but like you say, "In a perfect world". This world is far from perfect.
I'll be honest, I can't agree that if all racing fans banned together, racing could be that much of a force to reckon with. That is because fans of other sports far outnumber all of the fans of auto racing here. Auto racing, in the United States, has always been a niche sport, granted a very large niche, but still a niche. A niche is not going to challenge something that is mainstream. Football, baseball and basketball are the big sports in this country, they're mainstream and racing will not ever really be a force for them to reckon with. That said, racing has managed to hold it's own, pretty well, against the mainstreams. Whether that continues, in the future, is questionable though.
The problem in this country, with regards to the fans of the different forms of racing, is akin to the problem with the Arabs and the Israelies, there has not ever, is not now and will not ever be any peace between them. They, for whatever reason, naturally dislike and fight each other. I'll use this example, since we are talking about the two, indycar vs NASCAR fans. As a NASCAR fan, I have been called, both on the internet and in person, stupid, ignorant, the "lowest common denominator", plenty of other names as well. On two seperate occasions, I was involved in physical altercations (yes, read that fist-fights) with indycar fans. Why, you ask? Because I happened to like something different than what they liked. I'm sorry, but over they years, this has grown somewhat tiresome. Fact is though, this type of treatemnt has not exactly made me what you would call anxious to rush out and attend one of their races or to watch any of their races on television. To the contrary, it has turned me very much against indycar racing. Please bear in mind, I am not saying all fans of that form of racing, but I am saying the majority that I have had dealings with have been hostile toward me, simply because I happen to be a NASCAR fan and not a fan of what they like. Like I said, in a post above -- "different people happen to like different things". What someone happens to like is their business and just because it is different than what someone else like. does not make it wrong and does not make the individual stupid, ignorant, etc. It really is no one else's business what I or anyone else happens to like or prefer over someone else's like or preference and they have NO right to tell me or anyone else, that because of my like or preference, that I am wrong, stupid, illiterate, etc.. It's sad, but that is the way it is and the damage, that they have done is irreparable. I won't disagree with you, that you have to make the best of what you have, but as long as those kinds of attitudes prevail, there will be no change, those attitudes will make change impossible.
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